


The Legacy of Svalbard

by silveryink



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode 7: The Fight to the Death, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Lee and Iorek are iconic dads as usual, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Rated T for Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21938323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveryink/pseuds/silveryink
Summary: Things are slightly changed, and Lee found himself thrown into the same cell in Svalbard as Lyra. Thinking quickly, he goes along with her story to make sure that Iorek stays alive long enough to fight an angered Iofur Raknison.
Relationships: Iorek Byrnison & Lee Scoresby, Lyra Belacqua & Iorek Byrnison, Lyra Belacqua & Lee Scoresby
Comments: 21
Kudos: 140





	The Legacy of Svalbard

**Author's Note:**

> I set out to write a short ficlet about Lyra and Lee when my muse smacked my around the head with a new idea. This entire story is developed around the concept of Lee not crashing elsewhere, but ending up with Lyra at Svalbard.  
> WARNINGS: Spoilers for episode 7, mild, non-graphic violence and mentions of blood (while describing the general vibe of Svalbard and the bear fight)  
> Hope you all enjoy!

Lyra squeaked when the doors opened and scrambled back as someone was shoved inside harshly. She heard a vaguely familiar grunt, followed by some impressive swearing. The figure stood and dusted off some grime from their – no, _his_ coat, grumbling about _damn bloody aesthetic_ and _impossible to remove the stains_ now that he was out of earshot off the bears. Lyra stared for a moment, before hesitantly calling out, “Lee?”

Lee squinted roughly in her direction, but Hester’s sharp golden eyes found her and nudged him. Pan hopped over to her.

“Kid?” Lee’s expression of suspicion transformed entirely as he grinned with relief. “I thought you – wait, how’d you get here?”

Lyra shrugged, wincing as the movement tugged at her side. She’d have to see if it was badly injured later, once they were out of the cold. “I fell into a bank of snow, and one of them bears found me,” she said, tripping over her words as she knocked him over with a hug.

“You’re alright, though?” Lee held her back at an arm’s distance and turned a scrutinizing eye on her. “Not hurt or anything? It’s pretty rocky around here.”

Lyra hesitated for the fraction of a moment, deciding that now was really not the best time to bring it up. “No. Must’ve been lucky, I s’pose. How’d _you_ get here? I thought you were still in the balloon.”

Lee hummed, looking unconvinced, but let her change the subject. “It crashed a coupla miles from here,” he said. “I lost Roger and Iorek further back, but they’re probably fine…” his voice trailed off uncertainly.

Fear struck Lyra for a moment, before she remembered what she had with her. She quickly unbuttoned her pocket and pulled out the alethiometer, stepping into the faint light that passed through the railing. She ignored Pan roaming around the cell inquisitively for a moment, turning her full concentration to her task. Lee’s hand on her shoulder tightened almost imperceptibly, but her attention didn’t waiver as she turned the needles onto the symbols she wanted. _Where is Iorek Byrnison?_

The last needle flicked across the device in a seemingly random pattern that made absolutely no sense to Lee, but must have done for Lyra, for she waited a moment before putting it away. She looked up at him and said, “He saw where we fell, he saw the bear tracks, and he is headed this way.”

Lee sank down the gate with a breathless laugh, thankful that his friend hadn’t been harmed by the fall. Hopefully Roger was with him too. Lyra slid down next to him and added, “He’s coming to rescue us.”

Lee chuckled softly before he caught sight of a cloth-covered lump at the far corner of the cell. “I wish I was a witch, then Pan could fly off and see if my father was here…”

At those words, Pan squeaked and scampered away from the same lump that Lee had been eyeing. The lump sat up and said, rather clearly, “But you are not a witch.”

Lyra started badly, and Lee automatically shifted to cover her a bit. His hand went for the revolver that was usually at his hip, but found nothing. _Obviously_ , he chided himself _, it fell out of the balloon with Lyra._

“You’re just a little girl,” the man continued.

“Who are you?”

The man started to give her an answer, though Lee barely registered any of it until Lyra spoke up once more. “You’re… a Scholar?”

The man nodded. “And you? What’s your name?”

Lyra shrugged ever so slightly, and Lee moved back. She could take the lead in this conversation – he hadn’t dealt with many Scholars in his travels. He’d step in if it was necessary, if Lyra was in any immediate danger – though, a single scanning gaze was enough to tell him that the man was _far_ from capable of doing anything to either of them, or even anyone who was mere feet from him.

“Lyra,” she answered truthfully. “Lyra Belacqua.”

Even in the dim light, Lee could see the change in the man’s expression. He started to chuckle, a harsh sound that would have raised his hackles – or Hester’s, if she’d settled as a wolf.

“I don’t suppose you’ve seen my father,” she tried, sounding more nervous now. “Asriel Belacqua, who was taken prisoner by the bears?”

“It wasn’t too long ago,” the man said. “He was sitting where you are now.”

“So he was here,” Lee murmured, and the sound echoed around the cell. The man looked at him questioningly, so he introduced himself briefly. “Lee Scoresby. Aeronaut.”

“There has been talk of you up North,” the man said.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Lee said dismissively. “I’m more curious about Lord Asriel and what he’s been up to these days.”

The man grinned. “Well, the rogue cheated his way to Iofur’s side.”

Now, Lee hadn’t had many dealings with armoured bears (except Iorek) but he knew that they couldn’t be deceived. “Cheated?” he echoed sceptically.

“Why, yes. He persuaded Iofur to let him return to his laboratory in the highest of mountains. But, make no mistake, that laboratory is still a prison.”

“Iorek will get us out of here,” Lyra muttered, hammering on the door.

The man barked out a laugh. “You’re not getting out of here, and _Iorek Byrnison_ would certainly not save you.”

“Why not?” Lee challenged, bristling at the slight against his friend.

“Because there are two hundred bears here.” Great, as if that would stop him. “They’ll kill him with fire-hurlers before he even gets close, and set upon the corpse like he’s a-”

“Okay, we get your point,” Lee interrupted. “Iorek was exiled, we know.”

“Hatred is a powerful emotion, and King Iofur hates every inch of Iorek,” the man said bitterly. “You’re stuck here, as am I. Till you wilt, or they break you!” With that, he laughed and fell back against the ground.

Lee was unsettled enough by this man that he turned away. Normally he would have had some level of sympathy for his condition, but the situation they were in, especially his affiliation with Iorek that put them both in danger, had him at the end of his nerves that Hester had to hop onto his outstretched leg and hiss at him to calm down.

“I once heard that Iofur wants to be human,” Lyra said after some silence.

“He does, it’s why I was hired. My downfall came when I told him that he was a bear, and will always be one. But unless you are a witch and could magic him a dæmon, you will fail to please him, just as I have.”

Nope, Lee still didn’t get it, but apparently his kid was onto something, from the way she was leaning forward eagerly. Lyra looked up at him with that _look_ , the one he’d come to recognize as her _I-have-a-plan_ look.

“Do what you have to,” he whispered, and she stood with a nod. He rose, still facing the man, and fluidly blocked her from his view. He pitied the Scholar’s condition – he’d probably discovered much about the bears that they didn’t want others to know – but wasn’t about to let down his guard in _Svalbard_ of all places. Not while it was ruled by Iofur Raknison.

“I need to speak to Iofur Raknison,” she called to the sentries outside. Lee started.

“Kid,” he called softly. Lyra nodded at him, not as reassuring as she probably intended it to be, and turned back to the gate.

“It’s about Iorek Byrnison. There’s something I know that the king needs to know!”

“Just like your father,” the man said, chuckling. “Protecting your own skin, are you? Betraying your friend.”

“Hey,” Lee snapped, “quiet down there. Kid, do your thing. I trust you.” His message was clear: _Iorek trusts you too_. She nodded and turned back, murmuring a quick “Pan, stay hidden,” into her coat.

“What do you want?” a sentry bear asked gruffly, pushing open the door with a growl.

“I have a message for King Iofur Raknison,” she repeated.

The bear ushered her out, and the door clanged shut on Lee again. Despite his faith in the little girl, he couldn’t help but wonder exactly what she was up to. He bent down and scooped Hester into his arms. “You think she knows what she’s doing?” he asked absently.

“She’s too much like us,” Hester responded knowingly. And it was true.

* * *

After an uncertain amount of time – it could have been minutes, or hours, Lee wasn’t sure – the door swung open once more with a shriek of rust. Lee was grateful for his hat, which muffled the sound enough that he wouldn’t feel like someone was raking nails against a metal bucket (which had happened a few times on the balloon before Lee figured out how to deal with rust on his tools). A bear stepped into view and glared at him.

“King Iofur wishes to see you.”

Perplexed, Lee stood wordlessly and let the bear guide him into what must have been the throne room, which could absolutely use some cleaning. He felt nauseous at the mixture of the iron-scent of blood and rotting carcasses which heavily permeated the air, locked in due to the lack of ventilation. Lyra stood in the centre as the bear nudged him forward into the view of the king.

“Lee Scoresby,” Iofur rumbled, and Lee did a double take at the fancy engraving on his helmet. Damn, he must _really_ have wanted to be human, he thought, eyeing the metal plume. “I hear that you are an acquaintance of Iorek Byrnison.”

“I am,” he said, deciding to kneel on a dry patch. It was probably wiser to do so. “I’ve known him for years now.”

“If you know him so well, tell me this: did Iorek participate in the activities at the Station with the Oblation Board?”

It took a moment for Lee to remember that not everyone called the Station ‘Bolvangar’. “Oh, yeah,” he said, not sure of what to add to that. “He had a major role in it, alright.”

Lyra was standing next to him, still as a rock spire. Lee supposed he was on safe ground so far, but the king’s questions started to get more specific and Lee couldn’t afford to be so vague with his responses, opting instead for selective truths. Yes, he had been at the Station, yes, Iorek had dealt with the scientists there. Yes, he knew of the child-cutting and other experiments, especially the ones about artificial dæmons.

Lee honestly didn’t know how the king had been this thoroughly duped by Lyra, but he supposed that’s why he’d been called – to verify her statements. He noticed that Pantalaimon was nowhere to be seen, and a good thing at that, because he could continue to bluff his way through the careful falsehood Lyra had crafted.

“Oh, yeah. My old buddy Iorek signed up, I was asked to watch the process so that they could stop if something went wrong.”

Iofur growled, and Lyra picked up readily from there. “See, I’d much rather be your dæmon,” she said. “Mrs. Coulter probably didn’t tell you about the conversion process, did she?”

Iofur roared. “I imprisoned Asriel for her! Speak, girl!”

“That’s why I’m here,” she said earnestly. “To tell you that there is a way for me to be your dæmon.”

Lee sucked in a breath. Hell, the resemblance between her easy-spun lies and his own smooth fibbing were uncanny. He turned his gaze to the ground, letting Lyra dominate the rest of the conversation. Honestly, he was proud of the net of lies she wove around him so easily. The rogue feeling that had been pestering him for days returned with a vengeance, and he quelled it immediately. Now was _not_ the time to be thinking about possibly becoming Lyra’s guardian, and besides, she probably wasn’t even as attached to him as he was after knowing him for all of a week.

Anyhow, he trusted that between the two of them, and Iorek, they would be able to pull off her plan (hopefully) without a hitch.

* * *

Lyra stood just outside the palace, shivering slightly in anticipation of what was to come. Lee was right behind her, a comforting presence in light of her dread for what was to happen to Iorek. “But he’s been out for a day,” she said, “and he just fought them Gobblers, and-”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Lee sensed the oncoming panic and turned her towards him gently. He knelt so that he was looking up at her, in this position on the steps they were almost at each others’ eye level. “Kid, I need you to trust Iorek now. Remember, he’s an armoured bear, he has more tolerance and strength than us humans. He’s fought in battles before, he can handle this.”

“But it’s a fight to the death,” she whispered, wiping away tears before they could fall and freeze on her cheeks. “What if I made the wrong choice?”

“Lyra, if I know anything about Iorek, it’s that he would have done it anyway. They’d have killed him on sight if it weren’t for this fight. What you’ve done is ensured that he stays alive, you get me?”

Lyra nodded and turned back. Lee stood and dusted the snow off his coat and trousers. He wished he could physically comfort Lyra, but that was out of the question when they were being guarded by the bears. Hester spoke up from beside him, “Here he is.”

And there Iorek was, eyes only on Lyra. “Are you okay? What is it?” He slowed to a stop before them. “Tell me, child.”

“Hello to you too,” Lee muttered sarcastically. Iorek dipped his head in acknowledgement and focused once again on Lyra.

“I’ve done a terrible thing - I told Iofur to fight you as soon as you come back and he’s going to _kill_ you. I tricked him so he wouldn’t just kill you at the gates,” she finished, now fully agitated. The bears had left, Lee noticed, presumably to announce Iorek’s arrival to their king, and he stepped forward to hug Lyra.

“You tricked him?” Iorek asked softly, disbelief on his face.

“I thought I was doing the right thing.”

If Lee had ever seen an expression cross Iorek’s face that was close to a smile, it was now. “You were,” Iorek said. “I need to fight him. To end his tyranny.”

Lyra threw her arms around Iorek’s neck. “I can’t lose you,” she whispered.

“You won’t, Lyra.”

“He’s not the real king.” Lyra pulled back and rested a hand on his snout. “He doesn’t even act like one. You do. Show him he’s _nothing_.”

Iorek nodded and turned to Lee. “Have you anything to say too?” he asked, and Lee felt more at ease with the familiar banter.

“Not really. Just…” he sighed, unable for once to summon any words. Iorek wasn’t one for them, anyway, and he could afford to be direct.

“Give ‘em hell.”

* * *

As Iofur explained the rules of combat to the rest of the bears in the audience, Lyra and Lee stood close to the middle, where they would be able to watch without hindrance. Hester was whispering to Pan, who had assumed moth-form and landed in between her ears, before he fluttered back into Lyra’s coat. Somehow this activity went unnoticed. With two ear-splitting roars, the bears clashed and the fight began.

As both bears slashed, struck and bit at each other, Lee found his thoughts wandering a bit. Iorek was smaller than Iofur, leaner and definitely more ragged from his run to Svalbard that morning, but he was content with his armour, with his soul. Iorek’s armour had been forged by himself, Lee knew, and was as much his soul as Hester was to him. Iofur, on the other hand… he wanted to be human. He wanted another soul, because his armour did not suffice. In that desire, he had lost the ways of the bears, allowing him to be tricked. He bit back a smirk at how cleverly Lyra had played him.

The girl in question whimpered softly when Iorek took a big hit. Lee rested a hand on her shoulder – something he _never_ would have done were she actually Iorek’s dæmon – and squeezed gently, a reminder of where they were, and that he was there for her too. Lee had seen the old boy fight before, but he’d always outmatched the number of humans they had fought against. In this death-match, Lee found himself fearing, for the first time, that his friend’s incredible might might not be enough.

Iofur roughly shoved Iorek towards one of the pillars, and Lee harshly pulled Lyra back. She let out a cry as they fell back, Lee instinctively covering her head in case of falling stone, and scrambled to sit up, struggling slightly against Lee’s grip. “Kid, _Lyra_ , we can’t interfere…”

Lee’s heart leapt to his throat as Iofur steadily rained blows on Iorek, despair sinking in that he couldn’t help him, that he was bound by rule to not interfere as the odds seemed to weigh against them as the seconds passed by. Lyra sobbed once and clasped a hand over her mouth, and Lee couldn’t say much when he wasn’t that far behind.

“ _Iorek_!” she screamed, when Iofur started to drag him across the arena by the neck.

Iofur paused. “Look at him,” he started, stopping Iorek’s struggle with a paw on his snout, “that’s not a king…”

He continued to taunt Iorek and pace around, so very human in his pride, but Lee could only see the red of Iorek’s blood slowly matting his fur from several wounds. Lyra wrenched free of his grip and ran to Iorek’s side, and Lee forgot for a moment the peril they were in. “Lyra, _no!_ ”

The ruse was up the second he shouted those words, but he vaulted over the steps to her side without hesitation. Up close, Iorek’s wounds seemed so much worse. “Buddy,” he murmured, his vision going hazy with tears. He couldn’t lose Iorek, not now, and not to Iofur.

“I’m so sorry,” Lyra pleaded.

Lee looked up when Iofur’s declarations paused. The king glared at them. “Why are you helping him?” he asked quietly, before putting two and two together.

“ _LIAR_!” he roared, rising on his hind legs. “YOU’RE NO DÆMON!”

Lee tensed, ready to leap in front of Lyra should Iofur try to strike her, but his hand felt the iron-like tensing of Iorek’s own muscles. He glanced down, eyes wide as the realization hit him. As Iofur bore down on Lyra, he lunged and pulled her out of the way, rolling to shield her from the fight. He stopped in a crouch over her, the end of his coat effectively blocking the rest of her from view. Lyra gasped and tried to look over Lee’s shoulder, but Lee pulled her into his cover.

“Lyra, listen to me.” He hoped the urgency in his voice was enough to get her to obey his next statement. “We can’t interfere, it’s against the rules of combat, and _please do not try to look._ ”

Fortunately, she did listen, and buried her head in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him under the coat. Lee turned his head to try to get a glimpse of who was winning the fight, but from the sound of it, it probably would be over soon. He cringed when he heard the screech of claws against metal, with a roar just behind. His ears were ringing, and his head pounded in time with each blow the combatants struck.

‘Soon’ took agonizingly long to arrive, Lyra whimpered when she heard a particularly loud roar and a ripping noise, one that Lee thought he’d never forget. Then a single shriek, and the sounds stopped. Lee heard the soft padding of feet behind him but didn’t dare look up, still reeling from the shock of that shriek. The sounds had aggravated a headache that had been in the making since the cliff-ghast battle, and he flinched when he felt a gentle nudge at the back of his head. He looked up to see Iorek: a fairly beaten and bloody Iorek, but alive nonetheless. Lee wondered if this was how he had looked at Navy Odense to the poor captain.

And this was it, he couldn’t help it any longer, he started to laugh.

* * *

Lee stepped into the relative warmth of the castle as the rest of the bears methodically stripped it clean of Iofur’s fantasies of becoming human. “What I wouldn’t give to have a pelt like yours, Iorek,” he said, shaking off the cold. At least the headache was mostly gone.

Lyra turned. “You found the bloodmoss?”

Lee nodded and handed out a small cloth bundle to her. Lyra was pleased to find enough to pack it in all of Iorek’s wounds with enough to spare. Lee joined her and the two of them worked quickly, effectively stopping the bleeding.

Lyra was still concerned about Iorek’s neck, but the old bear stopped her by saying, “Leave it be, child, it will heal fast now.”

“If you’re certain,” she said. Lee chuckled.

“That was some impressive tricking you did there, buddy,” he said. “Almost had me fooled.”

Iorek growled in assent. “It was as Lyra said – Iofur wanted to be a human, and so he had forgotten the ways of the bears.” He turned to her once more. “You helped me get my kingdom back. You are one of us now, and so I shall give you a new name. You are no longer Lyra Belacqua, but Lyra Silvertongue.”

Lyra grinned shyly, and Lee smiled proudly at her. Getting a title like that from an armoured bear was a hell of an achievement, and one completely deserved at that.

“Lyra Silvertongue,” she repeated, trying it out. She smiled again, satisfied. She moved to pack the last bits of bloodmoss into Iorek’s wound and winced as she stretched too far. This set off warning bells in Lee’s head. He hadn’t missed her earlier deflection in the cell, but hadn’t wanted to push it then.

“Kid, you sure you aren’t hurt?” his sharp look stopped her denials, and she sighed.

“I must have hit something when I fell,” she admitted. “My side hurts a bit, not too much.”

Lee bit his lip. It was possible she’d landed on a rock half-buried under the snow, and he didn’t fancy her walking around with broken ribs. Those were plenty painful _with_ treatment. “Would you mind if I looked at it? Just to make sure nothing’s broken.”

Lyra nodded and pulled aside her furs and unclipped her overalls. He told her to leave her sweater on, so that she wouldn’t freeze. Iorek watched in silence as Lee pressed gently around the general vicinity of where Lyra must have been hit. Aside from Lyra’s hisses when he pressed down, there didn’t seem to be anything of concern. Must’ve been bruised badly, though, and he sympathized with that. It was never pleasant; she’d have to be careful not to bump into anything until the clots faded. He was satisfied with his examination and pulled away, clipping up her overalls securely and allowing her to pull her furs back into place.

“Just take it easy for a few days, kid,” he said. Lyra nodded, though they both knew that she had no intention of following through. Besides, up North, with her goal in mind, it was probably unlikely that she _could_ take it easy.

Iorek stood and spoke to one of the sentry bears, who had just come in with news. “It won’t take long to reach Lord Asriel’s laboratory,” he told Lyra. “Lee, your balloon apparently crashed along that route so it should be easy to find there.”

He spoke a bit more to the bear, who nodded and left. “We shall leave in an hour.” His tone left no room for argument, not that Lee was going to dispute it. He wondered about the condition of the balloon, but it was good enough if he could find it. The rest could wait till after.

* * *

Iorek took a small detour to drop Lyra off to see Roger, who was safe after the fall, and left her with a sentry as he accompanied Lee to his balloon. Lee smiled at Lyra’s cheerful reunion with her friend. The kid needed some good people in her life, and she seemed to be as close to Roger as he was with Iorek.

“I’m surprised she isn’t a complete wreck,” Lee said, frowning at his balloon. Hester hopped closer to the basket, which was strangely undented. To be fair, it had landed in a snow bank, which was why he was also uninjured. “It’ll be a pain to fix her, though.”

Iorek shook his head once. “A man with nine lives, is what you are,” he rumbled, and Lee snorted.

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t have a way to pull her back to Svalbard, or the tools to repair this damage.” He waved towards the gas-engine, which, from what he could see, appeared to have taken most of the hit.

“When we take the child to Asriel, I will call on the bears to pull the balloon back to the palace,” Iorek assured him.

“You got a sled?” he asked skeptically.

“I think Iofur’s armour will do,” his friend answered dryly.

Lee chuckled, and filled his pack with his tools – the ones that were portable, anyway. If the balloon couldn’t be salvaged, at least he’d have these.

Soon enough, getting his balloon up in the air wasn’t the biggest problem – no, that night, when the Aurora flickered out, Lee finally understood what was going on, and _this was what Asriel set out to do_ , he thought, as the sky split open.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays to everyone reading this!  
> I'm available on [Tumblr](https://silveryinkystar.tumblr.com/) in case anyone wants to ramble about these three (or HDM in general)!


End file.
